Feb 2, 2019, 9:22 am
Last edit by: TWA884
Please check out the parallel thread in the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers forum:
Global Entry for Citizens of India
Global Entry for Citizens of India
India joins US Global Entry programme.
Jan 24, 2018, 2:50 am
#271
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Why they are making such a drama about the verification process? In Germany all the Federal police does is check your data in the Justice Ministry database to see if you have any prior convictions or if there are any current warrants in your name. Why the US govt wants the Indians to be cleared by the ED and intelligence services is beyond logic.
The Indian government wants to seem like its "tough" on "security" and "not leaving any stone unturned" on behalf of the US, and this may be considered part of that. That and they think it makes it less likely that the US pulls the GE program for resident Indian citizens in the event that some bad Indian/"Indian" apples get into GE and then do something awful.
Jan 24, 2018, 2:53 am
#272
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Thank you for the update, Keyser.
If I'm reading this right:
If you are Indian citizen living abroad then, you need only police verification and finance ministry clearance.
If you are Indian citizen living in India then, you need police certification, finance ministry clearance, IB, CBI and RAW clearance. A meeting is set in March to recommend to PMO to remove the requirement for CBI clearance.
If I'm reading this right:
If you are Indian citizen living abroad then, you need only police verification and finance ministry clearance.
If you are Indian citizen living in India then, you need police certification, finance ministry clearance, IB, CBI and RAW clearance. A meeting is set in March to recommend to PMO to remove the requirement for CBI clearance.
Jan 24, 2018, 1:09 pm
#273
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 10
so i hate to be the bearer of bad news but here is some more information i got yesterday....at a function last night i had a half hour conversation with the ias officer in the home ministry responsible for global entry applications for indian citizens....here are a few points from the conversation:
i asked him while they were waiting for the meeting with the pmo, would it not be a good idea to start getting the approvals from the other 2 agencies....this way if the prime minister insisted on the approval from the 3rd agency they atleast 2/3rd of the work would have already been done....he just shrugged his shoulders & said no one would be able to take that call since the pm has said all 3 approvals are needed so they will either send the applications to all 3 at the same time or to none at all till this is clarified....i asked him how long he thinks this whole process would take & he was confident it would be done at some point towards the end of the year....
so i guess we still have a long way to go....
- they were not informed in june 2017 that an announcement was going to be made to open up global entry for indian citizens....
- when the announcement was made they were given a weeks time to comply with the requirements....
- when the requirements were put into place it was initially just a police verification for indian residents....the rest of the background checks were to be done by the us authorities....
- about a week after applications started coming in the pmo added a few requirements like full background verification to be done in india & every indian citizen, regardless of where they were living would be required to go through the police verification process....
- shortly after the pmo introduced some added requirements which then included approvals from the finance ministry (enforcement directorate) & the home ministry (intelligence bureau, central bureau of investigation & research and analysis wing) before the application was sent back to the us for final approval....
- the external affairs ministry sent in a report to the pmo requesting no police verification for people living outside india as many of them had no address in india anymore....
- the pmo agreed to relax some requirements for indian citizens living abroad but still insisted on the police verification & approval from the finance ministry....
- so far from the 5k+ applications they have received, the finance ministry has cleared over 75% of them so that completes the verification process for those living outside of india....
- as far as the home ministry is concerned, not even a single application has been approved since they are right now debating which agencies they need to get clearance from....the pmo has said clearance should come from all 3, ib, cbi & raw....the home ministry recommends that only clearances from ib & raw would suffice for global entry & there is no need for the cbi to get involved....
- the home ministry has recommended this to the pmo & the pmo has called a meeting in mid march to discuss this....
i asked him while they were waiting for the meeting with the pmo, would it not be a good idea to start getting the approvals from the other 2 agencies....this way if the prime minister insisted on the approval from the 3rd agency they atleast 2/3rd of the work would have already been done....he just shrugged his shoulders & said no one would be able to take that call since the pm has said all 3 approvals are needed so they will either send the applications to all 3 at the same time or to none at all till this is clarified....i asked him how long he thinks this whole process would take & he was confident it would be done at some point towards the end of the year....
so i guess we still have a long way to go....
I am currently on H1 visa and had applied for global entry in 3rd week of August. There has been no update yet. When asked for an update on Twitter through the passport seva handle, they said they are still awaiting MoF and HM clearance.
Any US resident here who applied after August 23 and received their approval?
Jan 24, 2018, 4:24 pm
#274
Join Date: Jan 2018
Programs: United MP Gold
Posts: 3
Thank you for the update, Keyser.
If I'm reading this right:
If you are Indian citizen living abroad then, you need only police verification and finance ministry clearance.
If you are Indian citizen living in India then, you need police certification, finance ministry clearance, IB, CBI and RAW clearance. A meeting is set in March to recommend to PMO to remove the requirement for CBI clearance.
If I'm reading this right:
If you are Indian citizen living abroad then, you need only police verification and finance ministry clearance.
If you are Indian citizen living in India then, you need police certification, finance ministry clearance, IB, CBI and RAW clearance. A meeting is set in March to recommend to PMO to remove the requirement for CBI clearance.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
Jan 24, 2018, 7:18 pm
#275
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
What determines whether your application is considered as "Indian citizen living abroad" vs "Indian citizen living in India"? When I did my PSK verification application, I entered a "Residing since" date of some time in the early 2000s (i.e. when my parents and I moved into our current house). However, I've been living abroad for the past decade, only in India for a few weeks every year (at my parents' house). My police verification was completed at this address when I last visited India in early January.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
If the rumor is true that Indian Citizens residing in US are getting their application conditionally approved, I wonder how the government will know by merely looking at the application details.
Jan 24, 2018, 11:26 pm
#276
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I am currently on H1 visa and had applied for global entry in 3rd week of August. There has been no update yet. When asked for an update on Twitter through the passport seva handle, they said they are still awaiting MoF and HM clearance.
Any US resident here who applied after August 23 and received their approval?
Any US resident here who applied after August 23 and received their approval?
Jan 24, 2018, 11:51 pm
#277
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What determines whether your application is considered as "Indian citizen living abroad" vs "Indian citizen living in India"? When I did my PSK verification application, I entered a "Residing since" date of some time in the early 2000s (i.e. when my parents and I moved into our current house). However, I've been living abroad for the past decade, only in India for a few weeks every year (at my parents' house). My police verification was completed at this address when I last visited India in early January.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
I also have the same question. I think every applicant would have done the same thing since there is no option on PSK web application to enter your US address.
If the rumor is true that Indian Citizens residing in US are getting their application conditionally approved, I wonder how the government will know by merely looking at the application details.
If the rumor is true that Indian Citizens residing in US are getting their application conditionally approved, I wonder how the government will know by merely looking at the application details.
Jan 25, 2018, 1:41 pm
#278
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 106
What determines whether your application is considered as "Indian citizen living abroad" vs "Indian citizen living in India"? When I did my PSK verification application, I entered a "Residing since" date of some time in the early 2000s (i.e. when my parents and I moved into our current house). However, I've been living abroad for the past decade, only in India for a few weeks every year (at my parents' house). My police verification was completed at this address when I last visited India in early January.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
Based on this information, would I be considered as an Indian citizen living in India? I also know that in my initial GOES application I entered a detailed residence history dating back 5 years, which included all foreign addresses. I wonder if that's what's used to determine residency instead.
Finance ministry would have records of income tax, NRE\NRO accounts etc. For NRE\NRO accounts, you do need to keep your latest passport on file with the bank.
With all these records, it would be easy to figure out who lives in India and who doesn't.
Jan 25, 2018, 4:32 pm
#279
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Posts: 3
NRIs would use the same passport to travel to\from India that they entered for their GEP verification. There are electronic records of entry\exit, and almost all Indian passports these days are machine readable, so keeping track is easy.
Finance ministry would have records of income tax, NRE\NRO accounts etc. For NRE\NRO accounts, you do need to keep your latest passport on file with the bank.
With all these records, it would be easy to figure out who lives in India and who doesn't.
Finance ministry would have records of income tax, NRE\NRO accounts etc. For NRE\NRO accounts, you do need to keep your latest passport on file with the bank.
With all these records, it would be easy to figure out who lives in India and who doesn't.
Jan 25, 2018, 9:21 pm
#280
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 26
NRIs would use the same passport to travel to\from India that they entered for their GEP verification. There are electronic records of entry\exit, and almost all Indian passports these days are machine readable, so keeping track is easy.
Finance ministry would have records of income tax, NRE\NRO accounts etc. For NRE\NRO accounts, you do need to keep your latest passport on file with the bank.
With all these records, it would be easy to figure out who lives in India and who doesn't.
Finance ministry would have records of income tax, NRE\NRO accounts etc. For NRE\NRO accounts, you do need to keep your latest passport on file with the bank.
With all these records, it would be easy to figure out who lives in India and who doesn't.
I've none of NRE/NRO account or have ever filed indian tax claiming any kind of NRI benefits. Been in US for 13yrs now. I do have latest passport issued from Indian Consulate in US though but Indian address.
The point here is - it should be part of application data collection, and people can supplement the evidence whether they reside abroad or visit frequently.
Jan 25, 2018, 10:25 pm
#281
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Jan 26, 2018, 7:44 pm
#282
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: BA Gold, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,261
How do they figure out who is living outside India (I'm sure they do it right, just would love to know) ? We specify Indian address and passport verification is done in India.
US scrutinizes all in-bound travelers who can board only with "OK to Board" check. Global Entry just replaces the verification of entry eligibility. Foreigners on B1/B2 visa can now use Kiosks anyways(at most airport/terminals - as long as they have used the visa/passport once as can repeat ESTA visitors) and they can bypass the blue form and being screened by CBP officer.
At the Global Entry interview they do look for past CBP offense. I had a colleague denied Global Entry(he is a LPR) as one occasion he had an apple that he got in flight for his 3 yr old son. He didn't realize and it was in his diaper bag - the agriculture violation record was put on his name as he filled the custom form for the family. At that time he was not informed and not fined either(the fruit was confiscated).
US scrutinizes all in-bound travelers who can board only with "OK to Board" check. Global Entry just replaces the verification of entry eligibility. Foreigners on B1/B2 visa can now use Kiosks anyways(at most airport/terminals - as long as they have used the visa/passport once as can repeat ESTA visitors) and they can bypass the blue form and being screened by CBP officer.
At the Global Entry interview they do look for past CBP offense. I had a colleague denied Global Entry(he is a LPR) as one occasion he had an apple that he got in flight for his 3 yr old son. He didn't realize and it was in his diaper bag - the agriculture violation record was put on his name as he filled the custom form for the family. At that time he was not informed and not fined either(the fruit was confiscated).
Jan 27, 2018, 6:46 pm
#283
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 7
How do they figure out who is living outside India (I'm sure they do it right, just would love to know) ? We specify Indian address and passport verification is done in India.
US scrutinizes all in-bound travelers who can board only with "OK to Board" check. Global Entry just replaces the verification of entry eligibility. Foreigners on B1/B2 visa can now use Kiosks anyways(at most airport/terminals - as long as they have used the visa/passport once as can repeat ESTA visitors) and they can bypass the blue form and being screened by CBP officer.
At the Global Entry interview they do look for past CBP offense. I had a colleague denied Global Entry(he is a LPR) as one occasion he had an apple that he got in flight for his 3 yr old son. He didn't realize and it was in his diaper bag - the agriculture violation record was put on his name as he filled the custom form for the family. At that time he was not informed and not fined either(the fruit was confiscated).
US scrutinizes all in-bound travelers who can board only with "OK to Board" check. Global Entry just replaces the verification of entry eligibility. Foreigners on B1/B2 visa can now use Kiosks anyways(at most airport/terminals - as long as they have used the visa/passport once as can repeat ESTA visitors) and they can bypass the blue form and being screened by CBP officer.
At the Global Entry interview they do look for past CBP offense. I had a colleague denied Global Entry(he is a LPR) as one occasion he had an apple that he got in flight for his 3 yr old son. He didn't realize and it was in his diaper bag - the agriculture violation record was put on his name as he filled the custom form for the family. At that time he was not informed and not fined either(the fruit was confiscated).
Jan 27, 2018, 7:24 pm
#284
Join Date: Dec 2008
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I don't recall entering my US address anywhere on PSK website. It's been a while so maybe I'm wrong...
Jan 27, 2018, 9:24 pm
#285
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 17
Thank you guys for sharing classical stories about India and US programmer. but i don't think this would be implemented very early. It will takes longer time.